Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- (1) A society of vigilantes degrades into gang warfare and tribal warlords. (2) A society based on vendetta degrades into an vicious cycle of retaliatory feuds. That is death. --- 6/8/2004

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- Do people get what they deserve? Yes? No? Maybe? Sometimes? (1) From birth. No one deserves this shit. (2) From nature, etc. Some good deeds go unrecognized and unrewarded. Some bad deeds go unrecognized and unpunished. (3) From man, law. Some good deeds go unrecognized and unrewarded. Some bad deeds go unrecognized and unpunished. --- 6/4/2004

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- Do we deserve to be rewarded (paid) based on how hard we work, or do we deserve to be rewarded (paid) based on how much we accomplish? --- 11/15/2001

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- Do we punish to set an example to others? If so, all punishments should be public. Do we punish to persuade the recipient not to repeat their action in the future? What about compensatory damages and punitive damages? (2) Do we reward to set an example? If so, all rewards should be public. Do we reward to encourage the individual to act that way in the future? --- 11/15/2001

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- Payback. Revenge. This "get even for everything, at all costs" idea is brave, but crazy. It is the idea that we should avenge every slight no matter how small. It is as crazy as the opposite idea that we should let anyone do anything to us. The "turn the other cheek" view. Both of these extremes are destructive. Where to draw the line? Get even, but stay within the law? --- 04/22/1989

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- Prizes, awards, medals. (1) Hollywood is an example of excessive, non-stop award dinners. People patting themselves on their backs. Mutual admiration societies. (2) People parading around with medals on their chests. It is "show-off-y". People become more concerned with getting medals by any means than with the actions that gain the medals. (3) Examples of people who said "no thanks" to the prizes of the system. Jean Paul Sartre turned down a Nobel Prize. Marlon Brando turned down an academy award. Woody Allen turned down an academy award --- 6/8/2004

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- Revenge (retribution, recompense) vs. justice. You've been done wrong, what to do? Hurt them back? Turn other cheek? Hurt someone else? How to live with the pain? --- 12/30/1992

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- Reward and punishment. (1) Does a person deserve to be punished based on how much work or effort they did to harm, or does a person deserve to be punished based on the actual harm they caused? (2) There is a similar question of whether to reward based on effort or accomplishment. --- 7/15/2006

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- Reward and punishment. Two theories of reward that are analogous to theories of punishment. (1) Should one reward to set a public example, similar to theories that say to punish in order to set a public example? (2) Should one reward to encourage the person being rewarded, similar to theories that say to punish in order to deter the person from repeating the crime? --- 7/15/2006

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- Reward systems. There are various systems of rewards in society. (1) The pay structure of work is a type of reward system. (2) Social status is a type of reward system. (3) Sex and love are a type of reward system. (4) Prizes, like the Nobel Prize, and like the Oscars, are a type of reward system. --- 7/15/2006

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- Reward. People who did good work, yet turned down society's rewards and prizes. John Paul Sartre turned down a Nobel Prize. Marlon Brando turned down an Oscar. Woody Allen turned down an Oscar. There are many more people. This is an interesting group of people. These people are intrinsically motivated to do good work. --- 7/15/2006

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- Rewards are bribes, and rewards are for kids. Doing good is its own reward. The reward is the good thing done. --- 12/30/1992

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- The general idea of desert is "you get what you deserve". Good actions are rewarded, and bad actions are punished. --- 11/15/2001

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- Two views of an unjust society. (1) In a unjust society, a person is rewarded for doing evil and punished for doing good. (2) In an unjust society, evil goes unpunished and good goes unrewarded. --- 7/16/2006

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- What do we do to those who do wrong to us? Invite them to do it some more? No. Ignore it? No. Turn away? No. Let them do it to us? No. Run away? No. Take action? Yes. Punish them? Yes. --- 12/30/1992

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- When we say things like, "Nobody deserves to be treated that way", or "I do not deserve this bad treatment.", or "I do not deserve this acclaim.", we are talking about what a specific individual or humans in general deserve. It gets into the areas of reward and punishment, and also human rights. --- 4/28/2001

Philosophy, ethics, desert. --- You only deserve what you have earned. However it is easier for some to earn things than others, due to the unfair natural advantages they have. So do they really deserve what they have gotten? If you have been gifted by others, or by luck or fate, you don't really deserve it do you? --- 04/30/1993